Labour said the forces are relying on a reserves plan "in complete crisis".

'Cynical and detached'

Gen Houghton said: "Defence has quite rightly focused on Afghanistan in recent years but getting back to a contingent posture that offers genuine political choices for the dangerous and uncertain world we face is now a clear priority."

He continued: "We have to recalibrate our expectation of the level of capabilities we can field on new operations from a standing start.

"We've got to get back into an 'expeditionary mindset' where we will not have perfect capability for every scenario."

Though the drawdown from Afghanistan is under way, and all combat forces are due to leave that country by the end of 2014, Gen Houghton would not be drawn on Syria.

"As it stands, no decisions have been made on our involvement in Syria," he said.

"It is, nevertheless, the duty of the Ministry of Defence to provide options for the use of military force in scenarios such as Syria, and military advice on the utility of those options."

The Yorkshireman replaced General Sir David Richards as chief of the defence staff in mid-July, at a time when the MoD is still making regular soldiers redundant while trying to increase the number of reserves.

The general said he planned to be "honest, straight talking and supportive" to those working in defence in times he described as "quite difficult for many of them".

He said there was scope for better internal and external communications - and the MoD had "risked people becoming cynical and detached from what defence was trying to do".

He also talked of the need to cut down on bureaucracy and change the culture within defence.

'Under-powered'

Gen Houghton said the forces were still in the "early days" of restructuring after budget cuts.

"We have made all the big decisions", he said. "But there is still an awful lot to do".

He said the biggest challenge was implementing the Reserve Forces proposition so that it balanced the needs of reservists with their families and employers.

"If we can deliver that proposition then the challenge of recruiting, for example 30,000 reservists for the Army Reserve, should, by historic standards, be a relatively easy one."

Shadow Defence Secretary Jim Murphy said a smaller force "can be smarter", but the government's policy had left personnel feeling "under-powered and under-valued".

He said: "Rather than strategically remodelling our forces for a post-Afghanistan, post-crash, rapidly-evolving security landscape, the government have simply shed capacity.

"Army strength and numbers rely on a reserves plan in complete crisis, which could severely limit our ability to respond to and shape world events."

But a spokesman for the MoD said the UK continued to have a world-class fighting force.

He said: "Since 2010, the MoD has balanced its budget for the first time in a generation and this year published the first 10-year equipment plan, which will see around £160 billion invested."

Comments

Comment number 590.

Essex Serpent22nd August 2013 - 16:16

I could never understand the reasoning for defence cuts whilst the UK forces are currently in a highly volatile Middle East? It is folly to think that Britains forces should be made smaller at this time and to rely on the reserves to make up the difference.The world is getting smaller and war is happening more often.

Comment number 415.

NickT22nd August 2013 - 12:44

The politics of miltary strategy and planning are light years away from the reality for the boys and girls in Afghanistan and elsewhere. The UK is too closely aligned to (and influenced by)the USA these days - where they too are facing grass roots opposition to foreign policy.

Our military has been one of our mainstays for many years. Let's not keep crippling it.

Comment number 347.

eConundrum22nd August 2013 - 12:00

Obviously he is right if you reduce funding of your armed forces you are going to reduce their capability. The real question is what capability do we want our armed forces to have? Obviously retaining the ability to invade other countries while still having enough reserve left to defend your own is a lot more costly than just retaining the ability to repel invasions yourself.

Comment number 243.

AdrianU271122nd August 2013 - 10:37

IMHO the world is not getting more peaceful in fact the opposite is happening right now ..just look at Egypt and Syria. Global peace is a nice Ideal but I doubt if it is something that will ever be achieved. We need a Strong military.

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